Bambino,


Nice truck, just seeing your makes me very excited about getting mine. How did it do when towing that trailer around?

 

jrm1493, if you want a truck tranny that can take all you throw at it, try an NP4500. That can take like 600 ft-lbs of torque and about the same ammount of HP.

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2000 Silver F-150 XL Sport
Reg. Cab, Reg. Bed, 4.2L V6, 5-speed, 4x2

mods:
Tailgate lock, Generic bedliner
285/75r16 BFG AT ko (32.9x11.4)
Sony CD player, Blaunpunkt 5.25" speakers
McGuard Wheel locks
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Never let your schooling interfere with your education --Mark Twain

 

The truck i have is definately not setup to tow things, but it did pull that trailer ~3300lbs without a problem for over 5000kms, accross canada. I have also towed my girlfriends family's boat at about 4000lbs, with no effort really.

For me it's fun to drive, handy to have, great to go 4x4ing and through the snow. Get's pretty good mileage with the 4.6 and 5sp too.

Too bad today i came accross my dream truck. Silver Reg Cab, 4x4 F250 Diesel 6sp. Man o man, it's gonna be a sleepless night!

Bambino

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Bambino Photo Gallery
1999 reg cab/short box/ORP/Silver on Dk Graphite - 3.55; 4.6l 5sp; Factory Tonneau; 40 chan CB/Maxrad Antenna; Kicker amp'd sub tubes; Rockford Fosgate components up front; Custom Exhaust; Mobil 1 5w30/Motorcraft FL820s; Amsoil Series 2k in the driveline.

 

Just thought I'd point out an error I made. I was using the wrong terminology. I should have said shifting fast instead of speed shifting. I always use the clutch. I don't think I'm good enough to shift without the clutch.
Good to here that others like the 5-speed.
Tom

 

I love my 5-speed, never had any problems with it. The only complaint I have with it is that freakin long throw. And nobody makes a short throw for it (I read the other threads with dismay ) Does anybody know if the current 5-speeds are the same as the older ones on the 5.0 trucks?

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<A HREF="http://www.f150world.com/Silver00Flareside/" TARGET=_blank> </A>
5_speed@f150world.net
Click the pic for more...

 

Most of the 5-speed grinding problems are due to bad syncros. Most have problems with their 3rd gear sycro, especially from 2nd to 3rd upshifts. This is a known "quirk" of that particular trasmission. Infact, the majority of the grinding tends to happen at lower rpms, as opposed to higher rpms when driving it like a "sports car" would happen.

To fix this problem, when shifting into that grinding gear, just wait a half second longer to let the sycro adjust. This will prevent you from grinding every time.

If this bothers you too much, tell the service manager, they will either fix your tranny or drop in a new one. They gave me a new one, but just fixed my friends instead.

 

I get a kick out of the folks who imply that if you have troubles with the transmission, it must be the way you are shifting. You shouldn't have to drive a 90's model truck like a model A or an 18 wheeler. Fact is, and the honest dealers will tell you, that these transmissions are indeed prone to synchro problems. When I talked to the service manager last week over the phone he knew exactly what to change (synchros and shift fork) and said it is very common with the Mazda trans. Mine worked fine until 83K miles. I've been driving manual transmissions since 1968 so am not a newcomer or a hotrodder. Anyway, I got my 96 F150, I6 back from the dealer service on Wednesday. Cost me $1552.00. This included a new clutch, pressure plate, and slave cylinder (at my request). They changed out 2 synchro gear assemblies in the trans also. It still isn't right and is going back Monday. 2nd to 3rd is much better but still quirky. Wasn't quirky from 0 miles to 82K. From all of the posts I've read, you have a 50/50 chance of your 5 speed Mazda making it over 100K without a rebuild.

 

RDavis,


This is exactly what I'm talking about. If what you said is true

"When I talked to the service manager last week over the phone he knew exactly what to change (synchros and shift fork) and said it is very common with the Mazda trans. "

then that sucks. I hate the thought of buying a truck that I know is going to have problems. Does anyone know if the extended warranty will cover this?

I can't wait to get my truck but I'm pissed by the fact that there is a good chance that I'm going to have some sort of problem with it early on.

I hope I get a good one. The truck I have now is a good one. I've got 130k on it and it is running great. It’s an 86 GMC Sierra. I guess that was a good year.

I had an 88 f-150 with a 5.0 and loved it, but I totaled it in an accident. That ford was the best truck I have ever owned, I loved it. I was hoping I would get anther one like that.

Sorry for bitching, it just bother's the hell out of me that I'm about to drop over 23k on a truck that could potentially have numerous problems.

I guess I'll just have to take my chances cause there is no f'n way I going to buy a GM, Dodge, or Toyota truck. They are all ugly as sin.

I still feel that Ford makes the best all around full size pickup.

 

2001 F-150 Sport,

I can relate to your concern, as I am finding that as this is my first truck (and my first Ford), I'm almost obsessive about certain things. I think it's probably good that I didn't find this website before I bought my truck, or I would have had many more nightmares before purchase (and members here would have had to answer many more stupid questions). Ignorance truly is bliss.

Anyway, I really think that you (and I, too) need to understand that it is because of our involvement in this website that we are aware of these many things. EVERY vehicle has something that has a propensity to go awry. I do not spend any time on the T*yota, D*dge, C*evy, or G*C truck boards, so I don' t know what's bound to fail on them.

I've also noticed that some topics kind of drive people into near hysteria, and I find myself getting wrapped up in the whole thing myself. "K&N might hurt the MAF and let tiny particles into the engine to do damage", "If you don't have door cracks, you soon will, and then the dealer will want $500 a door and take your truck for 10 weeks if you are out of warranty", "The synchs in the 5 spds are pieces of junk and you'll have to get a new tranny." If you buy a new truck, and low and behold you end up with door cracks or even having to replace the tranny, in real world automobile tragedies, does that top the list? I've spent a lot more on cars and had a lot more go wrong than just the tranny. If that's all that ever went wrong (the tranny), I would probably chalk that purchase up as a good buy.

Yes, you can get the tranny covered under the extended plan, and I was just looking at the extended powertrain warranty for that explicit purpose. You can price different plans, months, and miles on the Ford ESP website. I think mine came out to $65 bucks a month for the extended powertrain to 70K. There are some other things on there (water pump, etc.) where I hope I can recoup my mony mony if I don't end up having a 5 speed predisposed to failure.

Anyway, please don't think I'm suggesting you have no reason to worry, or no right to, or that Ford shouldn't continually try to improve its product. Consumer Reports 2000 Cars listed the Ford F-150 as a Recommend Buy, and only listed the T*yota T*ndra as a higher recommendation. G*C, C*evy and D*dge did not get Recommend Buy status. What more can you ask for? Mistakes are everywhere, just roll the dice and hope for the best, as the chances are low you'll lose, and if you do lose, you probably won't lose that bad.

You've done as much homework as possible, and have made an educated decision. It's in God's hands now.

 

Very well put cpadpl.
These boards are loads of fun. They are also a place to get information. The thing is we hear a lot of opinoins. Lots of facts, and lots of opinions. It can be difficult to tell the difference sometimes.
I think it is important to remember that even though there are many members here it is a small percentage of the Ford truck owners. If we were seeing tens of thousands of people saying the same thing then I would be quite pissed off myself. Maybe the Mazda transmission is a known problem. In how many trucks though.
I think it is good to have access to all the information that can be found here. I guess this stuff would all be going on even if I hadn't seen it here. Right? Then I (we) would be oblivious to all that is happening with our F-150's
2001 F-150 Sport, you will have your truck soon enough. Be proud of it and enjoy it. Wait till you get to the bridges to cross them.
Hey my truck has been a-ok. I keep an eye and ear out incase something is going wrong. That is all I can do.

RDavis. If you happen to revisit this thread I've got a question. You wouldn't happen to know the model numbers for the transmission in your '96. If you could provide that information it would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

 

haven't had a problem with mine since new and i drive a little aggressive and off road often

 

Tom, The truck is still in the shop. I will post the transmission model number when I get it back. They had a tough time duplicating the grinding but the service manager finally did. He said shifting at lower RPM's and lugging the motor a bit, loads up the gears during the shifting and aggrevates the problem. I was glad he could duplicate it. They are going to go back in and replace the shift fork. So far, here are the Ford numbers of the gear & bushing assemblies and the sync and blocker rings: E8TZ-7101B, F1TZ-7124-M, F1TZ-7107-G, F1TZ-7107-H. I am pleased with the work so far. I know that intermittent problems can be hard to track down. I will more than likely buy my next truck from them, they have been honest and up front. I will probably buy an automatic next time though. I drive in a lot of traffic and shifting is grudgery because of it. Regards, Bob

 

Rdavis,


“He said shifting at lower RPM's and lugging the motor a bit, loads up the gears during the shifting and aggravates the problem.”


Do you know what the recommended shift RPM is? Can you clear the gears by double clutching?

What can you do to prevent this?

 

F150-Sport, I could have been more clear when I stated that lugging the motor and shifting at lower RPM's aggrevated the problem. That is the troubleshooting technique that he used to expose the grinding condition. He did not say that if you always shift that way, it would cause the problem to occur. About 82,500 miles, I started noticing the occasional grinding when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. It got worse in that it occurred more and more often. I finally took it in to be fixed 2 weeks ago. The service technician drove it and because it occurred so often, he was able to witness the grinding. He then replaced the synchro and gear bushing assemblies that I stated in an earlier post. I picked the truck up last week. It shifted much better and the first day, no grinding. Then day 2 and day 3, I got some intermittent grinding during shifts. So I took it back again and that is when it took the service manager's expertise to diagnose it and they are now replacing the shift fork. I will get it back today.
I don't know what the recommended shifting RPM is, I don't have a tach anyway. I shift by "ear". I don't lug the motor and don't wind it up tight either. I believe the owner's manual has a table of shifting per MPH. Like 1st to 2nd at 10 MPH or something to that effect.
The service manager did tell me this: If you have the long throw tall stick shift, most people feel comfortable resting their arm or hand on it while driving. If in so doing, you exert force backwards on the 4th gear constantly, it MAY cause some premature wear and cause this problem. I don't know what he uses to back that statement up, maybe someone else could evaluate it and shed some light. Good luck, Bob

 

The model number of my 5 speed transmission from the bar code label on the side, is F2TA KA C293746. I don't know how to cross it to a M50D. I do have a Haynes repair manual and pictures of the ZF trans is in there and it does not look like mine. By process of elimination I am assuming mine is the Mazda M50 trans. By the way, the truck shifts like new now. The new shift fork was the key to getting rid of the grinding. The new synchro gear bushing assemblies helped as well. After grinding for a few months, I am guessing the gears had some wear from it. Adios, hope that's it for a while. Good luck, Bob.